Judge Judy has spent five years dominating syndication ratings. Being #1 on television is paying off for her, as she's earning a salary of $47 million a year, contracted until the year 2021, according to Fox Business News. Her sprawling suburban mega mansion speaks to her success.

My friend, Mark M Passero Jr., says he recalls friends who were employed by the TV Judge to build her estate. Judy and her husband bought the 12.5 acres of property with an existing mansion on it for $13.2 million in 2007, then demolished the structure, and built a 16,993 square foot mansion there following year, according to the DailyMail.

Mark recounts that "it took 100 framing carpenters (who were not told who the home was being built for) over a month just to frame it, and it's well over 15,000 square feet. She bought the property, which had a historic house on it, then tore it down. Workers took home some of the beautiful historic artifacts from the demolished house" (presumably deemed unwanted construction debris).

Judge Judy actually served as the wedding officiant marrying her grandson on the grounds in September of 2013 in Greenwich as reported by the Daily Mail.